Shannon Elliott always wondered what would happen if you got some of the best baseball leagues in Kansas, combined it, and made it one big association. After sorting through the legal paperwork, that is now a reality. The Kansas Baseball Association has been formed.

The KBA will consist of 5 separate leagues, the KCAC, the GWAL, the MIAA, the KJCCC, and the CKL. Each league will crown a regular season champion and have playoffs. All leagues will be starting around April 15th every season, with a 144 game schedule. Mr. Elliott wanted to make this as universal as possible. There will be trading allowed within the leagues, and draft picks can be traded.

Each team will have a 25 man active roster and a maximum of 15 players in a reserve roster. Mr. Elliott did not want the hassle of a full minor league system, but wanted teams to have options in the case of injuries. In rare cases, he expects teams will drop players that aren't cutting the chase to the reserve roster, and bring guys up. "Sort of like a minor league system, although the point of the reserves really is to only be dipped into when injuries occur."

Also, after all the league playoffs are over, Mr. Elliott has set up an association playoff involving teams from all 5 leagues. "We're gonna see who the best of the best is among all the teams in our associaton." So the questions begs... how will these playoffs be decided. Mr. Elliott answered "All 5 winners of the league tournaments (playoffs) will be in. In addition all regular season league winners will be in. Since the KJCCC is split up into divisions, both division winners will be in. It's possible the KJCCC could get 3 teams into the association playoffs. I know that league winners will not always win the league tournament, and I feel that if there is a separate regular season champion and postseason champion, both teams deserve to be in. This creates a situation where anywhere from 6 to 10 teams could be in our association playoffs every season. It has a random feel to it, because you never know. One season it could be 6, one season 10, another season 8.. you just don't know."

All these are real schools and real conferences, with a few changes. The KJCCC and KCAC mirror real life. the MIAA and CKL are a combination of certain schools from certain leagues. The GWAL is mirrored real life, except Word of Life is a school I added to give it 10, since the game won't accept a 9 team league.

Mike Schaplowsky has taken over the role of general manager for the Wichita State Shockers, who are expected to be a middle of the pack team in the MIAA. "I realize there is a challenge here, but we have a great owner in Kyochi Oishi. He's a japanese guy that understand the business, and will be very understanding, knowing we've got gaps to fill." Unfortunately, Oishi is very tight with the budget, allowing Schaplowsky minimal cash to shell out to any free agents. "We're gonna have to really get the best of the best."

Our manager will be 56 year old Vicente Velez. He is an outstanding teacher when it comes to hitting. Not so good at pitching and fielding, but he handles players well, especially veterans. He's a definite keeper.

The bench coach is 39 year old Geoff Taylor. He is just average at everything, and does an ok job with the players. May be looking for an upgrade here after the season.

45 year old Peyton Burns, will be our pitching coach. He is just average, so I hope he can help our staff at least keep an ERA under 5. Under 4 would be nice.

59 year old Aaron Davis is our hitting coach. He is also an excellent hitting teacher. Our offense has the potential to be explosive, but our pitching, well that could be a wildcard.

The Wichita State Shockers have just pulled a rabbit out of the hat, as they signed 16 year old relief pitcher Juan Nunez to a 1 year, $720,000 deal. "This signing is more for the future than this year, and Juan understands he will probably not see a lot of playing time this season, but he only wanted to agree to a 1 year contract. I see him as a dominant set up man, possibly even closer in the future." Those were the words of Shocker GM Mike Schaplowsky. Nunez has a current rating of 1 star, but is projected to be a 4 star talent.

It's time to unveil the 25 man active roster to start the 2012 season. First, let's start with the pitching staff.

Starting Pitchers

Paul Schaplowsky- 22 years old, 5.0/5.0

Definitely the ace of the staff by far. My cousin has a dynamite curveball and change-up, and I know there is a legit chance for a win every time he is on the mound.

*editors note* I manually edited Paul Schaplowsky into the game, because I wanted a solid pitcher and a solid position player to be the foundation of this team.

Kyle Blood- 26 years old, 3.5/3.5

A solid #2 starter, has a great fastball, but has problems leaving the ball up. He's gonna have to keep it down and trust his defense.

David Ryan- 32 years old, 2.5/2.5

I really think we can do better. This guy is getting up there in age, not to mention he is making $9 mil a year. I don't think he's worth that much. He's also signed through 2014. I may be looking to trade him for a cheaper prospect, maybe a draft pick.

John Ford- 25 years old, 1.0/1.0

This guy is getting a chance in our rotation thanks to a great spring, and the fact that he throws 6 pitches. Yes, you heard me right. 6 pitches. He can really keep a team off balance.. the problem is, once teams catch on to this guy, it's batting practice.

Kyle Palmer- 24 years old, 1.0/1.0

Also had a good spring. The best thing about this guy is that he moves his pitches well. He's got a chance to be a diamond in the rough.

Before I go on, keep in mind that some of these potential ratings may be skewed. Our scouting director is just average, combined with the fact that I have scouting accuracy on normal, so some of the 1 star players may turn out to be hall of famers, while some of the 4 and 5 star players may be busts. This is why I will be looking more at stats instead of star ratings when I make some decisions about who to bring up, who to release, etc etc.

By far the best pitcher we have for the bullpen, he will be closing games. Tremendous fastball, complimented by a nasty slider. I look for big things from this guy.

Jacob Carlson- 26, 1.0/1.0

A fastball/change up guy. When he can mix speeds and hit his spots, he can be good for a batter or 2. Being a lefty, I hope our coaching staff is smart enough to primarily use this guy against left handed hitters, and keep him away from the righties.

Ron Jones- 26, 1.0/1.0

Good stuff for a 1 star pitcher, might be slightly underrated. Relies heavily on his curveball, mixing in a straight fastball when needed. Like Carlson, he'll be good for a batter or 2.

Ashraf Lasi- 30, 1.0/1.0

He's got to be better than he is, being a veteran on the team. Trying to get him to develop his curve ball is like trying to get a fat person away from a buffet. Don't expect this guy to be in the mix for long, especially if our 16 year old phenom progresses in his workouts.

Julio Perez- 28, 1.0/1.0

As a batter, you have to be careful with this guy. Don't dig in too deep, because control wise, he doesn't have it. He walked 8 guys and hit 4 in spring training, so he definitely is wild. However, when he finds the zone, he can really be a clutch pitcher... but only when he finds the zone.

Ramon Rosales- 22, 1.0, 1.0

Great stuff, and plenty of time to develop another pitch. Has to rely on his curveball too much and it gets him in trouble. Could be good for a couple innings a game if he can just develop a stronger second pitch and/or work on a third pitch.

Overall Analysis:

The pattern is that our scout doesn't think much of our bullpen, with most of them being 1 star. But.. they posted a combined ERA of under 2.50 in spring training. Is it because they are underrated? possibly. I'm hoping for a strong season from these guys, hoping the preseason games weren't a fluke.

Hit .325 with 14 RBI's in spring training. Solid numbers. Unfortunately he's not as good of a defense catcher as I'd like him to be. He will be our starting catcher, and I'm hoping he will stay hot offensively.

Paco Lopez- 24, 1.0/1.0

This guy is gonna see some playing time, mainly because of his defense. He is one of the top rated defensive catchers in the MIAA. Look for him to start every 4th or 5th game, and definitely look for him to be a late inning defensive replacement.

Overall Analysis

If Todd can produce offensively consistently, he could be a solid catcher for us. What would be great is if we could rely on Lopez to be good with the bat, because his defense really is needed. Overall, depending on how these guys hit, an upgrade is quite possible.k for him as a late inning defensive replacement.

This guy is gonna be a frikkin star! He's got a great eye at the plate, a good contact hitter, and an excellent bunter. And he's solid in the field. The scary thing is, he still has a chance to get better. He'll be our starting shortstop.

*editors note* This is the second guy I manually edited to be the foundation of this team.

Ulf Gottlieb- 23, 4.0/5.0

Another potential star in the making, as he has great contact, and solid power. He isn't as strong in the field as we would like, but he will be seeing most of the action at third base.

Anthony Andrews- 23, 2.0/4.0

You can put this guy anywhere in the infield except 1st base. He has great hands, great range, great potential. Also, if you don't pitch him carefully, he'll put one in the gap. Could see a lot of extra base hits each season. He'll start at second.

Sergio Gabriel- 26, 2.0/4.0

Isn't projected to be as good as anybody else I've mentioned in our infield. He's a decent second baseman, but can't play anywhere else. This guy is going to be our starting DH though, due to the fact that he has some pop in his bat, and he can also find a gap. Look for him to make his share of starts at second base however.

Wayne Skewes- 22, 1.5/1.5

Might see limited time this season, and still has potential to be a decent player, but don't look for much out of this guy. He can be a good pinch hitter as he has some pop, but other than that, he'll see limited action.

Jorge Vazquez- 32, 1.5/1.5

He'll be starting at first base, but only because of his bat. In the field he is pretty much a liability. Not very good range, but I'm expecting 20-25 homers out of him.

Overall Analysis:

We are solid on the left side of the infield, and it looks like there could be a position war at second base. I expect that to be a solid position as well. As far as first base goes, I'd like to find a better defensive first basemen, but for now, I'll take a guy there that can hit 25 to 30 dingers a season, and I think Vazquez can. We'll definitely be looking for an upgrade though.

An all-star waiting to happen, if only our league had an all-star game. Great pop in his bat, great clutch hitter, great gap hitter, and fields well. He'll start in right field, but he can also play a great left field.

Francisco Valenzuela- 23, 3.0/5.0

Comes from great baseball genes, as his father Fernando was an all-star pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers for several years. Francisco decided to be an outfielder though, and he has room to improve. He can already hit the daylights out of the ball, and he's going to get better in the field. He's penciled in to start in center, and will probably lead off. This guy can steal 60-70 bases in a season, if not more.

Carlos Martinez- 23, 1.5/1.5

He's going to start in left field, but pretty much by default. He is the best outfielder that we have left on the roster, and he will run pretty much everything down. He'll get a clutch hit every now and then, but quite simply, this guy is in for his defense. Although when he does get on base, he's also a threat to steal.

Del Alexander- 25, 1.0/1.0

All this guy has to offer is his glove and his speed. He couldn't hit his way out of a paper bag, but if you want to get him in the game, put him in to sacrifice bunt, or play the field. By the way, he can play any outfield position, and first base in a pinch.

Felipe Ferriera- 17, 1.0/3.0

Definitely the youngest player on the active roster, he won't play a lot. In fact he could be down in the reserves before the season is over. I'd like to keep him around though, as he has the potential to be an average outfielder. With the help of our great hitting instructors, he can turn into a solid hitter.

Ian Rosson- 21, 1.0/1.0

Offensively, he's not gonna get much better. Gonna be a .200 hitter, staying right around that mendoza line. I'll keep him around for now, but about the only thing he's going to do is sub out in left field when we need him to.

Overall Analysis:

I think our outfield can be special. We've got a star in right field, and potential stars in left and center. We've good speed. I'd bet we are the fastest team in the league, maybe the entire association. Overall, I'm happy.

Picked up the Sports Illustrated KBA Preview today and darn near had a heart attack. SI has us picked to win the MIAA, finishing with an 85-59 record. Call me a pessimist, but I don't see it. I still see us finishing 4th or 5th. Maybe our league is just that weak, I don't know.

Got a call from Mr. Oishi today, who sees it about like I do. He just wants us to finish at .500 or better. Pretty simple really.

I will be posting on this tomorrow, I will have a few weeks worth of posts. My plan is to go week by week. I think I am going to just copy and paste from my BNN home page for now. I know that other people do that, I am going to try it too. It seems to be the simplest way i have found to get screenshots. Anyways, I will be posting some stuff tomorrow, hope you all enjoy.

I have contemplated making a change. I think since this is an association instead of just a single league, with 5 leagues built into an association, I think I am going to write more about the association as a whole. Standings for each league at the end of every season, playoffs, stats, etc etc. I won't key on any individual team or player, or manager or anything, just the association as a whole. I'm not sure how well that would be followed, but it would be an idea I had.

That way if I did this as kind of a "quick dynasty report" as somebody mentioned, I could write in full on my Kansas City Royals report when I expand the league to 32 teams. Would you guys be opposed to this idea? Thoughts, comments?

I am having a real hard time deciding what to report on. Here are my options. I have 2 dynasties going with OOTP 13. One is a fictional dynasty that I have created an association with 5 separate leagues. Each league has its own playoff, then an association playoff involving all the leagues. I also have a KC Royals dynasty where I will be doing an expansion to 32 teams soon. I'm trying to figure out what to report on.

Should I report fully on the Kansas Baseball Association and not worry about reporting on the Royals? Or should I just do season recaps (standings, playoffs, etc) of the KBA and report fully on my Royals team? What do you guys think?

Also, I don't see a lot of dynasties on here that are in "commisioner mode" so to speak. Most dynasties I see are of human managers controlling a team. What kind of response would a quick dynasty with no human manager get?

Sorry to keep harping on the subject, at this point I'm just really torn. I have a hard time sticking with something because I always think I'll like another idea better.

So I just got my computer back up and running today, and after lots of debating, I have decided to go ahead and report on the KBA and my Wichita State Shockers. I don't know what I will do once I start my Royals dynasty. May do partial reports on that, but we'll see. I will get going on this soon. Hope you all enjoy.

I don't know how good it will be, I am going to try and get graphics into it, but no guarantees.

I just can't for the life of me figure out how to get screenshots into my dynasty report. I tried copy and paste and it didn't seem to work, I tried the windows snipping tool and it didn't work right. I am going to have to invest in something like photoshop I guess. In the meantime, I'll have to do this dynasty report sans screenshots, unless somebody can help me out.

I just can't for the life of me figure out how to get screenshots into my dynasty report. I tried copy and paste and it didn't seem to work, I tried the windows snipping tool and it didn't work right. I am going to have to invest in something like photoshop I guess. In the meantime, I'll have to do this dynasty report sans screenshots, unless somebody can help me out.

The quickest way, IMO, would be to take the screen shot, then paste it in MS Paint (assuming you do not have any other graphics program, ie GIMP, Photoshop). Then save it to your harddrive as a PNG file. Then, when you need to upload the screen shot, go to "manage attachments", which is under the "Submit Reply" button, and upload your screen shot. This will add the screen shot to the bottom of your post... I am pretty sure there are other ways to do it. Hope that helps.

And I will be rooting for my alma mater the Newman Jets, still odd to me, since when I was there it was Kansas-Newman...